The present invention relates to data storage systems, and more specifically, this invention relates to transferring operability between storage locations in data replication systems.
In current data replication systems, the application nodes at a storage location, such as a cache site or “primary cluster”, modify the data and queue the data modification operations to a gateway node. The gateway node may apply optimization techniques to the operations which are received, e.g., such as coalescing small contiguous write operations into single write operation, before sending the operations asynchronously to a remote location, such as a home cluster or “recovery cluster”. Accordingly, the remote location is able to maintain a redundant copy of the data at the storage location.
This redundant copy of the data at the storage location is particularly useful in situations where the storage location goes offline, as the remote location is able to assume operational responsibility relatively seamlessly in response to determining that the storage location is unable to. However, when the storage location comes back online, there is often a significant amount of data and applications which are transferred back from the remote location before the storage location can actually regain operational responsibility.